1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to aircraft engines and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for protecting the leading edge of a cowl structure and inlet for an aircraft engine.
2. Background
Some currently available aircraft have two or more jet engines mounted to the wings of the aircraft. Turbofans and turbojets are two different types of jet engines that are currently available. Each of these different types of jet engines comprises a housing with an opening at a forward end of the housing. The forward end of the housing is the end of the housing configured to be closest to the nose of the aircraft. The opening at the forward end of the housing allows air to be drawn into the jet engine through an inlet formed by the interior surface of the housing at the forward end of the housing.
Covering this opening into the inlet of a jet engine on an aircraft may be desirable when the aircraft is not in service. For example, covering this opening may be desirable when the aircraft is being stored in a facility, when maintenance is being performed on other parts of the aircraft, when the aircraft is being inspected, during finishing operations, during painting operations, and/or when other operations are being performed on the aircraft.
Further, covering the opening into the inlet of the jet engine may prevent particles, dust, debris, foliage, foreign objects, sand, and/or other undesired items from entering the inlet of the jet engine. The opening of the jet engine may also be covered to protect the inlet from rain, moisture, snow, and/or other weather conditions.
Wind milling may also be prevented by covering the opening into the inlet of the jet engine. Wind milling is the unintended turning of the fan and/or turbine in a jet engine in an aircraft in response to prevailing winds around the aircraft. When an aircraft is stored for long periods of time without a cover for the opening into the inlet of the jet engine, wind milling may cause undesired wear of the jet engine.
Some currently available solutions for covering the opening into the inlet of a jet engine may be covers that comprise plastic materials, fiberglass, and/or other hard materials. These covers may cover the opening into the inlet but may cause undesired inconsistencies to form at the leading edge of the housing. Further, these covers may be unable to protect the leading edge of the housing from inconsistencies caused by, for example, maintenance equipment coming into contact with the leading edge of the housing. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that take into account at least some of the issues discussed above as well as possible other issues.